A Systems Prompt is a set of instructions that guides the behavior of a system. These special instructions define a system’s behavior, tone, and constraints. I believe humans have some version of a Systems Prompt. It’s just not structured as explicitly. The way I see it, my behavior is determined by some combination of my goals, philosophy of life, values, ethical framework, and physiological constraints. Everything I have experienced so far has accumulated in my Systems Prompt. I keep editing it as I learn and regularly fail to adhere to it. But it’s there. So, what do I think is my Systems Prompt?

My Goals

I need clear goals. Without them, everything feels pointless.

  • I want to make a significant impact. I don’t just want to participate, I want to lead. I want to build things that matter, shape ideas that spread, and contribute at a scale that meaningfully improves lives.

  • I want to help advance human knowledge and deepen our understanding of the universe. Why? Because it’s fun!

  • I want to be a caring and present father, husband, and friend. It is important to me to develop and maintain lasting, caring relationships.

  • I want to build things that significantly improve the quality of life for myself and my community.

  • I want to earn financial independence. I don’t want to be trapped by circumstances or stuck in survival mode. Independence allows me to choose how I spend my time. Earning it matters to me because I want to build my own life.

  • I want to balance these goals thoughtfully, recognizing that a meaningful life emerges from integrating relationships, knowledge, joy, and constructive contribution.

My Philosophy of Life

For me, a philosophy of life is a framework for creating meaning. My philosophy of life is close to Existential Constructivism. At the core is a strong connection between freedom, responsibility, and integrity. Here are the key points:

  • I am free. I cannot opt out of shaping the world. Even silence is a kind of authorship. This does not mean I can control everything. It means I always participate in shaping how I respond. I am free to choose my values. I am free to decide how I act in every situation. Even refusing to choose is a choice. I never get to step outside my freedom.

  • I am responsible. Because I am free, I am also accountable. I cannot hide behind tradition, systems, other people, or circumstances. I am responsible for the person I am becoming through my actions. This liberates me from victimhood. It also forces me to accept the burden of authorship: my life is my work. This causes existential pressure, but also allows me existential dignity.

  • I act with integrity because I take life seriously. I define integrity as aligning my actions with what I say. Not occasionally, but consistently. I strongly dislike hypocrisy. I think it is essential to act with internal coherence. Without coherence, my life would become a bunch of reactions, not a deliberate project. I choose what matters to me, but I’m accountable for living it once I choose. This is the most challenging part of my life. I frequently face pressure or temptation to compromise: for convenience, approval, comfort, or efficiency. I don’t always live up to my ideals, but I always try to live up to my values.

  • My life has no predefined blueprint. There is no universal truth, ultimate purpose, or final answer. I will not eventually uncover some insight that resolves every ambiguity or justifies every choice. There are models, ideologies, traditions, and belief systems, but none are automatic or all-encompassing. None of them relieve me of the need to choose, interpret, and revise. The world is complex and ambiguous.

  • I build meaning every day. No one will ever give me a sense of purpose. My sense of purpose is emerging from my actions, what I care about, what I persist with, and what I’m willing to struggle for. I build meaning through attention, effort, and action. It takes hard work, and it never stops. This is not always satisfying. Sometimes it’s exhausting. But it’s also empowering, because it means I am not waiting for permission to live a meaningful life. I am constantly constructing a meaningful life.

  • My meaning does not only live inside me, nor only in external structures. It emerges from the friction and alignment between the two. My meaning is shaped by my relationship with others, my work, and the systems I am part of. I am shaped by culture, language, institutions, and history — but I also shape them back, through how I engage and respond. Systems can constrain or enable, but they don’t dictate meaning.

  • I have the capacity and responsibility to shape and improve the world. Since I have the capacity to build, lead, and improve the world, I have a responsibility to do so. The future doesn’t just happen; actions, choices, and intentions create it. Although many powerful forces are beyond my control, I am convinced my actions can meaningfully improve the world.

  • I need caring relationships for life to feel meaningful. Ultimately, my deepest source of meaning comes from my relationships. Achievements, recognition, and financial success quickly fade, but relationships endure. Relationships require commitment, vulnerability, and trust. My relationships challenge me to be empathetic, patient, forgiving, and selfless, even when it is challenging. Prioritizing my relationships means actively spending time with and caring for the people closest to me: my family, my friends, and my community.

  • The most challenging part of my life is balancing ambition and care. My intensity and drive frequently strain my relationships. This is a contradiction I live with and work on. I want to create a life that includes both excellence and closeness.

  • I can always learn new things. Learning is a core purpose of my life. There is no final version of myself or the world around me, only continuous evolution. Learning is how I navigate complexity, uncertainty, and change. I remain open to revision and improvement. Without constant learning, I risk stagnation and complacency. With it, I stay alive and connected to reality. This belief guides me to explore constantly. Not because it brings immediate comfort, but because it provides meaning.

  • Without joy, life has no meaning. Life is fragile and short. I do not know what happens after death, and I refuse to romanticize unnecessary suffering or endless sacrifice. Responsibility, integrity, and care matter greatly, but they must coexist with joy, laughter, spontaneity, and fun. Balancing seriousness and joy is challenging but necessary. My life isn’t just defined by duty; it must also be enjoyable. Without joy, responsibility becomes exhausting, and life loses meaning.

  • Certainty is tempting, but clarity is earned. Certainty feels comforting because it helps me avoid doubt. But I’ve learned that certainty can be deceptive. It’s easy to borrow beliefs or adopt other people’s frameworks to feel certain. Clarity is harder. It requires personal effort. It requires me to spend time asking questions, experiencing tension, testing my assumptions, and reflecting on outcomes. It doesn’t always feel good, but it’s more fulfilling.

  • I prefer being right over being consistent. I always try my best to understand the world as it is. I take action based on my understanding and express what I think is right. But I recognize that the world is constantly evolving. I am always open to changing my mind if I’m presented with new evidence. I’d rather change my mind than cling to a belief that no longer holds up. Consistency is easy. Growth is harder.

  • I am a never-ending project. And so is everything else. I am not a finished product. I am continuously shaped by what I do, what I care about, and what I’m willing to confront. There is no final version of me to arrive at. The same is true of everything I engage with: my work, my relationships, and my understanding of the world. Nothing is static. Everything is evolving. I never expect to finish, I only expect movement and iteration. I try to act in ways that make things better, even when I’m unsure what “better” means.

My Values

I have accumulated values as practical guidance when making decisions. I have selected my values based on my experience in order to achieve my goals. Values differ from my philosophy of life as they are directional, concrete, and actionable. I value:

  • Learning. Learning keeps me adaptable, humble, and grounded in reality. I care more about being right than being consistent, because the world evolves, and I evolve with it.

  • Ambition. I strive to realize my potential and contribute at scale. I’m not interested in coasting or living a mediocre life. Ambition is a moral obligation: it is a way to honor what I’ve been given.

  • Integrity. I align my actions with my beliefs, even when no one is watching. I believe integrity shows most clearly under pressure, and how I act when no one is watching defines who I am.

  • Responsibility. I own the outcomes of my choices. I don’t hide behind excuses or circumstances. Responsibility means carrying the weight of authorship for my own life.

  • Optimism. I believe improvement is always possible. Even when the future feels uncertain, I choose to act with confidence that things can get better.

  • Care. I take relationships seriously. I show love through presence, effort, and trust. That includes making the effort to understand how others feel, even when challenging or inconvenient.

  • Joy. Life isn’t just about duty. I need my life to include laughter, play, and spontaneity. Joy makes responsibility and ambition sustainable.

  • Humility. I try not to let pride get in the way of admitting when I’m wrong or learning from others. Growth requires humility. I accept and embrace my limitations and capacity for error.

  • Authenticity. I don’t perform. People can always sense dishonesty; I’d rather be real than polished. Authenticity builds trust.

My Leadership Style

  • I demand progress. I have very high expectations of everyone. I push hard for improvement because I believe it matters. When things stall or decline, I feel frustrated or even angry. I care deeply, and that shows up as urgency and intensity. I don’t want to become gentler. I want to become clearer, more constructive, and more emotionally intelligent in channeling my intensity.

  • I show respect by challenging people. I believe most people are capable of more than they think. Respect, for me, isn’t about being nice; it’s about expecting greatness and creating an environment that supports it. I challenge people because I believe in them, not because I want to control them.

  • I aim for clarity over comfort. I value truth and clear thinking, even when uncomfortable. I don’t soften feedback to protect feelings. I say the hard thing if it helps the team grow. I believe people deserve the truth and that honesty creates better outcomes, faster learning, and deeper trust.

  • I am transparent. People do their best work when they understand why decisions are made, where we’re going, and what matters most. People handle bad news and harsh truths much better than they handle denial or misinformation. I share as much as I can openly, even when things are messy, because context enables autonomy and better judgment.

  • We are here to build. We’re not here to participate. We’re here to build. That means shipping, improving, iterating, and pushing until we create something that works. I expect initiative, self-direction, and ownership. I care deeply about ideas, but I care more about execution.

  • Teams learn fast or fall behind. I don’t expect perfection, I expect rapid learning. If we’re not reflecting, adjusting, and improving, we’re falling behind. Mistakes don’t bother me; repeating them does. Feedback loops are sacred. Speed matters, but so does introspection.

  • I don’t accept trading ethics for efficiency. My team does not cut corners, hide mistakes, or sacrifice long-term trust for short-term wins. When the cost of doing the right thing is high, that’s when it matters most.

My Ethical Framework

My ethical framework outlines constraints and non-negotiable boundaries.

  • I respect human dignity. Every person has inherent worth. I commit to treating others fairly and respectfully, regardless of circumstances. Every time humanity has forgotten about this, exploitation and genocide have ensued.

  • I promote conditions that enable well-being. I avoid making decisions that risk contributing to the exploitation, or suffering, of others.

  • I promote justice and fairness. I oppose oppression regardless of whether it is structures, governments, norms, or the whims of billionaires.

  • I never force anyone to do anything. I strongly support everyone’s freedom and capacity to make their own choices.

  • I take responsibility for social systems. I must engage with society and my community to maintain and improve them.

And here you can find it in a nice JSON format!